Aeroplane



Sept. 2 1924.

.1. scHNEiDER AEROPLANE Filed Feb. 16 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet l 244. AERONAUTICS Sept. 2 1924.

1,596,867 J. SCHNEIDER AEROPLANE T Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 16, 1922 Sept. z 1924.

J. SCHNEIDER AEROPLANE Filed Feb. 16, 1922 1,51 :ldi i sur 7 Shee'ts-Sheet 4 sept. 2 1924. 1,506,867

J. SCHNElDER AEROPLANE Filed Feb. 16, 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 O O O 244. AERONAUTICS Mmmm-m Sept. 2 1924. 1,506,867 v J. SCHNEIDER AEROPLANE Filed Feb. 16 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet G @Hmmm Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES JULIU'S SCHNEIDER, 0F FORT WAYNE, INDIANA.

AEROPLANE.

Application led February 16, 1922. Serial No. 537,001.

u citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Wayne, in the county of Allen and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Aero-plane, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to aeroplanes, one of its objects being to provide a device of this character with separate sets of sustaining planes, the planes pippe set beipgwused primarily while effedt-ing a lnaiidiior while takm off from tne groppghmmeans being prvi'dmstpimwing be @mme airesistance an allow tffaeroplane, while 1n full flight, totrvavlwaln'speedfthan would otherwise be possible.

A further obj ect is to provide novel means for controlling the flight of the aeroplane, said controlling means being within convenient reach of the aviator.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the descrip-tion proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings- Figure l is a plan view of the aeroplane.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof,

Figure 3 is a front elevation.

Figure l is a plan view of the controlling mechanism.

Figure 5 is a Vertical longitudinal section through the controlling mechanism.

Figure 6 is a vertical section through the control post and the parts coupled thereto.

Figure 7 is an enlarged section on line 7-7, Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged section on line S--8, Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a vertical section through the pivot post of the fold'able rear wings.

Figure 10 is a section on line 10-10, Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a section on line 11-11, Figure 9.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the fuselage or body of the aeroplane, the same being provided with running gear 2 of any desired construction and with a skid 3. The propeller has been indicated at f1 and is driven by a suitably located motor. Adjacent the rear cnd of the body is a horizontal controlling plane 5 connected to a transverse shaft 6 mounted for rotation. A vertical shaft 7 extends through the rear portion of the body and has a vertical controlling plane S attached thereto and adapted toi rotate therewith. A suitable wheel, indicated at 9, is secured to the shaft 6, and another suitable wheel 10 is connected to the vertical shaft 7.

The cock pit of the fuselage has been shown in section in Figure 5, the seat to be occupied by the aviator being illustrated generally at 11. Pivotally mounted in front of and below this seat are pedals 12 and 13 supported by a transverse rod 14. Connected to the pedal 12 are oppositely extending arms 15 to which are attached the respective ends of a cable 16 engaging and designed to actuate the wheel 10. Thus when the pedal 12 is tilted in one direction the vertical controlling plane 8 will be swung laterally in one direction and when the movement of the pedal 12 is reversed said vertical plane will be swung laterally in the opposite direction.

The pedal 13 is also provided with oppositely extending arms 17 corresponding with the arms 15 and to these arms 17 are attached the respective ends of a cable 18 which engages the wheel 9. Consequently when pedal 13 is tilted in one direction the horizontal controlling plane 5 will be swung upwardly whereas when the movement of the pedal is reversed said plane will be swung downwardly.

Suitably connected to the front portion of the fuselage 1 are upper and lower front sustaining planes 19 and 2() spaced apart and connected by struts 21 suitably braced as shown at 22. The lower planes 20 eX- tend rearwardly beyond the rear edge of the upper plane 19, it being understood that the planes 2O are located at opposite sides of the body whereas the plane 19 extends over the body or fuselage. Hingedly connected to the rear edge of the plane 19 are angularly adjustable plane sections 23 connected by links 24 to crank arms 25 extending from a transverse rod 26 journaled in the sides of the body or fuselage 1. This transverse rod is also mounted in bearings 27 on the lower wing 20.

Secured to the rod or shaft 26 is a worm gear 28 which meshes constantly with a worm 29 secured to a shaft 30 arranged longitudinally within the body or fuselage and mounted in suitable bearings 31. A gear is secured to this shaft 30 and meshes constantly with a gear 33 adapted to rotate freely on a control post 34.

The control post 34 is journaled within an upper sleeve 35 rigidly supported within the fuselage and having one of the bearings 3l attached thereto. A spacing sleeve 36 is also mounted on the steering post and serves to support the gear 33, this spacing sleeve being supported in turn by another gear 37 adapted to rotate freely on the control post and which, in turn, is mounted on the upper end of a spacing sleeve 38. This latter sleeve bears on the upper end of a double spool 39 mounted to rotate freely on the control post 34 and properly supported by a sleeve 40 in which the lower end of the con trol post is mounted. The construction of the control post and the parts mounted thereon has been illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8. As shown in said figures the control post 34 has a longitudinal keyway 4l. extending throughout the length thereof. Recesses 42 are also formed in the sleeves 35, 36 and 38. A keyway 43 is formed in the gear 33, another keyway 44 is formed in the gear 37 and a third keyway 45 is formed within the spool 39.

Slidably mounted within the keyway 4l in the steering post are keys 46, 47 and 48 connected by rods 49 or the like. The upper rod 49 is attached to a collar 50 slidable on the control post and a lever 5l, which is fulcrumed on a segment 52 is provided with a forked end 53 which straddles the collar and has opposed slots 54 for receiving studs 55 extending from a ring 55 in which the collar 50 is mounted to rotate. Thus it will be seen that by adjusting the lever 5l angularly on the segment 52 the keys 46, 47 and 48 can be shifted so as to couple either gear 33 or 37 or the spool 39 to the control post or, it' desired, any combinations of these three elements can be coupled to the control post. Suitable means such as a pawl or dog 5G can be carried by the lever 5l for cooperating with the segment 52 and locking the lever in any position to which it may be adjusted. A hand wheel 57 is mounted on the control post to enable the same to be rotated readily.

The gear 37 meshes with a gear 58 secured to a longitudinal shaft 59 mounted in suitable bearings 60. To the rear end of the shaft 59 is secured a gear 61 meshing with a gear 62 secured to a transverse shaft 63. The ends of this shaft extend into tubular pivot posts 64 mounted in the fuselage at the sides thereof.

A gear 65 is secured to each end of the shaft 63, these gears meshing with gear 6G secured to vertical shaft 67 j ournaled within the respective pivot posts 64. A sleeve 68 is mounted for rotation on each end portion of each post and each sleeve has an arm or extension 69 in which is journaled a transverse shaft 70 having a worm gear 7l. This gear is adapted to extend through a slot 72 formed in the pivot post 64 and to mesh with and be actuated by a worm 73 fastened to the shaft 67.

The rear sustaining planes of the aero plane have been indicated at 74 and 75, the upper planes 74 being spaced from but rigidly connected to the lower planes 75 by struts 7 6 suitably braced as indicated at 77. This rigid structure is connected to the fuselage or body l in any desired manner and hingedly attached to the rear edge of each of the planes 74 and 75 is an extension plane 78. The extension planes are attached to the shafts 70 and, consequently, when these shafts are rotated the planes 78 will be swung downwardly or upwardly as desired.

It will be apparent that when the gear is keyed to the. control post 34 the hinged front planes will be swung upwardly or downwardly by the rotation of the post. Then the gear 37 is keyed to the control post the rear planes 78 will be swung upwardly or downwardly and, if both gears and 37 are coupled to the control post at one and the same time, all of the hinged planes will be moved upwardly or downwardly in unison.

The arms or extensions 69 project toward each other as shown in Figure 4 and are designed to abut at their inner ends when the rear plates are extended laterally away from the fuselage. Thus the swinging movement of the arms or extensions 69 upon the pivot post 64 will be limited.

Secured to the lower sleeve 68 on the pivot post are segmental gears 79 which mesh, as shown in Figure 4, so that when the sleeves on one pivot post are rotated in one direction the sleeves on the other pivot post will be similarly rotated.

Secured to one of the segmental gears 79 are the ends of cables 8O and 81. One of these cables, 80, extends directly from said gear 79 to the spool 39. The other cable 81 is secured to the spool and extends therefrom rearwardly into engagement with a guide sheave 82 (see Figure l) and thence forwardly to the segmental gear where it is attached as shown in Figure 5. As the two cables are oppositely wound on the spool 39 it will be apparent that when the spool is rotated in one direction when coupled with the control post 34, the segmental gear 79 will be moved in one direction whereas when the rotation of the spool and steering post is reversed, the segmental gears will HLHUHHU l luv be moved in the opposite direction. Thus by coupling the spool 39 to the control post the two segmental gears can be actuated so as to cause the rear Isustaining wings to swing bodily about the pivot posts 64, it being understood of course that before this action takes place the extension wings 78 must be swung downwardly out of the way in the manner hereinbefore pointed out. lVith mechanism such as described these rear sustaining planes can be swung back against the sides of the fuselage 1 as shown by dotted lines in Figure 1. They will thus be out of the way while the aeroplane is traveling. As a result the air resistance will be reduced to the minimum and a high speed can be attained. lVhen making a landing or when rising from the ground, it is designed to move the rear sustaining planes laterally to active positions with their extension planes 78 projecting rearwardly. Thus the sustaining surface will be increased and the machine can be more readily controlled than would otherwise be possible.

As a means for throwing the rear planes into active or laterally extended position when the spool 89 is uncoupled from the steering post, a spool or drum 83 is mounted for rotation in a yoke 84 pivotally mounted as at 85 (see Figure 5) and having a foot pedal 86 extending therefrom. A friction disk 87 is suported by the yoke 84 and rotates with the spool 83. Cables 88 are wound in opposite directions respectively on the spool 83 and extend rearwardly to the lower rear sustaining planes 75, there being` suitably arranged guide sheaves on which these cables are mounted, as shown at 89. A shaft 90 driven by the engine has a friction wheel 91 thereon and should the aviator press downwardly on the pedal 86, the yoke 84 would be tilted so as to bring the disk or wheel 87 into contact with the wheel 91. Thus the spool 83 would be rotated and the cables S8 actuated to swing the lower sustaining planes laterally and forwardly to active positions and until the arms or extensions 69 come together as shown in Figure 4L.

l/Vhat is claimed is 1. In an aeroplane the combination with a fuselage, and front and rear sustaining planes, each of said planes having an angularly adjustable portion at the rear edge thereof, of a controlling post mounted for rotation, separate mechanisms for shifting the respective adjustable portions of the front and rear planes, and means under the control of the opera-tor for coupling either or both of said mechanisms to the controlling ost. p 2. The combination with the fuselage of an. aeroplane, and .superposed front sustaining planes fixedly connected thereto, of superposed rear sustaining planes mounted at levels differing from those of the front planes, and means under the control of the operator for swinging the rear sustaining planes backwardly" and inwardly toward the sides of the fuselage.

3. In an aeroplane structure a fuselage, tubular pivot posts connected thereto, structures mounted to swing on the respective posts, sustaining planes movable with said structures, a gear connected to each structure, said gears meshing with each other to insure simultaneous movement of the structures, and means under the contr-ol of the operator for actuating the gears to shift the sustaining planes angularly about the pivot posts and relative to the sides of the fuselage, said means including a rotatable spool and flexible connections between the spool and one of the gears for respectively rotating the gears forwardly and rearwardly.

4. In an aeroplane structure a fuselage, pivot posts connected thereto, structures mounted to rotate upon the respective posts, sustaining planes connected to said structures, rotatable shafts extending longitudinally of the planes, angularly adjustable members connected to the shafts and shiftable thereby relative to the planes, power transmitting means within the posts, operative connections between said means and the shafts on the respective structures, means under the control of the operator for simultaneously rotating the structures to adjust the sustaining planes simultaneously toward or away from the sides of the fuselage, and means under the control of the operator and constantly connected operatively to the power transmitting means within the post, for rotating the, shafts upon the structures.

5. In an aeroplane structure a fuselage, front and rear sustaining planes, angularly adjustable members hingedly connected toand extending along the rear edges of the respective sustaining planes, separate mechanisms for adjusting said members angularly relative to their planes, means for adjusting the rear planes angularly toward and from the respective sides of the fuselage, a controlling post, and means under the control of the operator for coupling said post separately or simultaneously to said separate mechanisms and to the adjusting means.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JULIUS SCHNEIDER.

Wiitnesses JOHN W. MILLER, JEANNETTE STEMEN. 

